Increase your gas mileage?

[still learning]

Hello, There is a web site (Acetone) click on this....you will find several sites claiming that ACETONE will increase your gas mileage in your car.

one ounce or 2 tablespoons of ACETONE to ten gallons of gas will increase up to 5 more miles per gallon.

PLEASE: Read this well, do more research before trying. Looks like it will work.?

Acetone can be brought at any hardware store or wal-marts kind of places.

The acetone helps the gasoline in your car vaporize more, therefore combustion is better. ........Aloha

 

[Kacey]

Hello, There is a web site (Acetone) click on this....you will find several sites claiming that ACETONE will increase your gas mileage in your car.

one ounce or 2 tablespoons of ACETONE to ten gallons of gas will increase up to 5 more miles per gallon.

PLEASE: Read this well, do more research before trying. Looks like it will work.?

Acetone can be brought at any hardware store or wal-marts kind of places.

The acetone helps the gasoline in your car vaporize more, therefore combustion is better. ........Aloha

Umm.... link, please? Or am I missing it? I'm kind of leery about putting acetone (nail polish remover) into my car with out any further information - and even then, I may wait until someone I know has done so successfully. I'm very cautious about such "quick fixes".

 

[still learning]

Umm.... link, please? Or am I missing it? I'm kind of leery about putting acetone (nail polish remover) into my car with out any further information - and even then, I may wait until someone I know has done so successfully. I'm very cautious about such "quick fixes".

Not sure of the link...just go to Yahoo/google..type in ACETONE or acetone increase gas.....Hope this helps

After reading many of the various topic's on this...you maybe convince to try it! .....Aloha

 

[Rich Parsons]

Hello, There is a web site (Acetone) click on this....you will find several sites claiming that ACETONE will increase your gas mileage in your car.

one ounce or 2 tablespoons of ACETONE to ten gallons of gas will increase up to 5 more miles per gallon.

PLEASE: Read this well, do more research before trying. Looks like it will work.?

Acetone can be brought at any hardware store or wal-marts kind of places.

The acetone helps the gasoline in your car vaporize more, therefore combustion is better. ........Aloha

There are lots of things that will help the car get better performance.

Ther are lots of things that will let the car get better gas mileage.

The problem is the emission standards, and will they meet them, and will the other people interested in mileage be pleased with the perfomance?

Acetone also could cause issues with certain hoses. I would be serious about the research before I put it in my car. I would want to know what it did?

Did it make the vehicle run too lean and or cause knock or pre-detonation?

 

[bydand]

Oh what the heck. I've got an old beater and my courisity is now peaked. I'll run down to Lowes and get a small bottle of acetone to try it out tomorrow. Who knows, maybe the little thing will go from 45 MPG to 55 or 60 MPG. It will take about a week or so to run it down a tank then I'll post the results.

Personally, I expect nothing, nada, zip to happen. At most, maybe clean out an injector or something. I know exactly what the little bugger gets for mileage and what it has gotten for mileage out of every tank for the past 6 months.

 

[Rich Parsons]

Oh what the heck. I've got an old beater and my courisity is now peaked. I'll run down to Lowes and get a small bottle of acetone to try it out tomorrow. Who knows, maybe the little thing will go from 45 MPG to 55 or 60 MPG. It will take about a week or so to run it down a tank then I'll post the results.

Personally, I expect nothing, nada, zip to happen. At most, maybe clean out an injector or something. I know exactly what the little bugger gets for mileage and what it has gotten for mileage out of every tank for the past 6 months.

What type of fuel lines do you have? If the fuel lines cannot handle ethanol fuel than I expect that it could cause damage.

But if you are willing to take the risk to experiement I would be interested in nowing.

Acetone can also be found as Finger Nail Polish Remover.

 

[elder999]

Oh what the heck. I've got an old beater and my courisity is now peaked. I'll run down to Lowes and get a small bottle of acetone to try it out tomorrow. Who knows, maybe the little thing will go from 45 MPG to 55 or 60 MPG. It will take about a week or so to run it down a tank then I'll post the results.

Personally, I expect nothing, nada, zip to happen. At most, maybe clean out an injector or something. I know exactly what the little bugger gets for mileage and what it has gotten for mileage out of every tank for the past 6 months.

According to the "research" it has to be relatively pure acetone. The small amounts that they're talking about (something like 1 oz./tank) shouldn't threaten your fuel lines, but.........




.......it doesn't work.

 

[FearlessFreep]

Acetone In Fuel Said to Increase Mileage

Directory:Acetone as a Fuel Additive

Cutting Your Gas with Acetone

 

[Shizen Shigoku]

Proven (and simple) ways to increase mileage:

Reduce the weight in your car.
Keep your car clean (inside and out)
Keep tires up to proper pressure.
Don't accelerate faster than you really have to (if you have a tachyometer - you can keep direct control of your engine speed - lower rpm's = less fuel burned)
(This one needs to be balanced with transmission health): Shift to higher gears sooner. Higher gears are more efficient and move the car faster at lower rpm's.

Anything else - additives, after-market parts, etc. - I wouldn't waste my time or money on.

 

[Rich Parsons]

From this article: http://www.pureenergysystems.com/news/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/

I have a couple of problems with this article.
First:

Complete vaporization of fuel is far from perfect in today's cars and trucks. A certain amount of residual fuel in most engines remains liquid in the hot chamber. In order to be fully combusted, the fuel must be fully vaporized.

Given today's emission requirements and control strategies, with O2 sensors there is not that much if any fuel sent down the exhaust, except during the first few seconds when the O2 sensors are not heated up and the system is not in closed loop controls or during Catalyst heating, but here the fuel is burned in the Catalyst to help ignite the catalyst and get a better processing of any fuel that might get to the exhuast. Yes there is some, and if one wants to try this on an much older car like 70's with a Carb, or early 80's with much higher emissions standards, one might see some improvement.

Also, like I said pre-detonation may occur which means you are getting the torque applied at the wrong place and will decrease your fuel economy.

second quote:

After you first find the best gasoline in your area, then try the acetone amount for your car per ten gallons, and if you are happy with your newfound mileage, you might want to try stopping the use of acetone for a couple of tanks. Watch the drop in mileage. It will amaze you. That reverse technique is one of the biggest eye openers concerning the use of acetone in fuel.

By finding the best fuel in most cases will improve your fuel economy. Find none ethanol fuels and your economy will rise.

But, if one was to drive as if there was an egg shell between their foot and the pedal and did not have large delta throttles, combined with lifting out of the pedal/throttle and coasting then stepping in early and braking over a larger distance. This puts the vehicle into Decel Fuel Cut-Off (DFCO) and also stops you from pumping fuel into they engine if your foot was still on the pedal.

CAUTION:
Keep acetone away from painted surfaces, such as the paint on your car under the gas tank opening. Acetone is the key ingredient in paint remover. In addition to paint, fuels, including acetone, gasoline alone can also dissolve asphalt and most plastics.
Never allow skin contact with it. It may damage clothing as well. Don't breathe it. Keep children away from all dangerous chemicals. Read the directions on the container.
Acetone is a highly flammable liquid, as is gasoline. Do not expose it near a flame or spark. Acetone should be stored outside, with proper ventilation, not inside your house. Gasoline and/or acetone will dissolve cheap plastics, so be sure the container you store it in will not deteriorate. Read all the precautions on the labels.

No Issues with the Engine Parts
I have soaked carburetor parts in acetone for months and even years to see if there is any deterioration. Any parts made to run with gasoline will work with acetone just fine. I presently have parts soaking in 1, 2, 5, and 10 % acetone/gasoline mixes as well as just gasoline. That is 20 to 200 times too much just to be sure. The 30R7 rated parts are in perfect condition. All my tests have been run with Texaco gasoline. I tested the gas stations in my area to FIRST find the best gasoline BEFORE putting acetone in the tank. But I have no idea from a pragmatic view what other gasolines do except that when I attempt to use them, my MPG drops like a rock. So for purely monetary reasons, I run the best available gasoline. When my dyno is built this summer, I will test all the gasolines in my area and publish the results on the web. I hear from engineers out West that Chevron gas is very good. I used it and it was fine during trips to California. I attach more credence to engineers who report things of interest to me because of their training and knowledge of testing methods. You may want to look up Science and Testing Methods in my site.

Note the comment about carburetor parts and not fuel injection systems.

Contrast with Alcohol
In contrast, alcohol has been shown to be corrosive in an engine, yet they put THAT into gasoline. Alcohol in general is anti-mileage. Alcohol is no good in fuels. In Brazil, millions of engines and fuel systems were ruined by alcohol. Yet they are talking of doubling the amount of alcohol in gasoline.
Furthermore, alcohol increases surface tension, producing the opposite effect from acetone. Alcohol in fuel attracts water. This hurts mileage because water acts like a fire extinguisher. Some cars may run badly and even quit due to the incombustible nature of the water-laden fuel. We know of a dozen cars that recently stopped running due to water in the alcohol and gas mixture. In my Neon, it frequently has cut the MPG in half on trips when I take pot luck at the pump.
In below-zero weather, the water and alcohol can form abrasive, icy particles that may damage fuel pumps and clog injectors.

While I agree that Volume for Volume Alcohol is worse than Gasoline. it is renewable, and is an approach that should continue to be persued. The problem is the cost of producing E85 gallon (* 85% ethanol *) takes more energy than producing a gallon of gasoline. But the technology will not get better unless people try. Also the note about cold weather, is very true about alcohol in the fuel.



Also note that in the spring and fall the refineries change their processing and additives for summer of winter fuels, which have products to help them with the temperatures.

 

[Rich Parsons]

Check out this site:

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Acetone_as_a_Fuel_Additive

I check the Chevrolet feedback:

Chevrolet

• Acetone in a Blazer - Initial findings by "burntkat": modest mileage improvement, exhaust odor gone, better idle.

• Chevy K5 Blazer 1986 - went from 11 mpg to 15 mpg using 2 oz / 10 gal. (Nov. 16, 2005)

• 1986 Chev Blazer S-10 - Harold from Sulley BC improves mileage an performance by adding 1-2 oz acetone/10 gal. (July 22, 2005)

• 1994 Chevy Suburban - report that 3.5 oz per 10 gallons led to 20%+ DROP in fuel economy. One test only. Could have been measurement error.

• '83 S10 2.8 6 Cyl. ~90K Miles. After tune up (plugs, filters, gumout, synth oil, rebuilt carb, etc.) 15 MPG average. 3 oz. / 10 gal = 13 mpg - 2 oz. / 10 gal = 13.5 - 1 oz / 10 gal = 18 mpg. Refining concentrations between 1 and 2 oz. for testing for further increases.

• 1992 Suburban ---

1. PreAcetone | 178518.5 Mileage 295.3 Trip, Consumed 22.694 Gallons 87 Octane, Mileage 13.012 MPG.
2. Acetone 2.5 per 10 gallons Gasoline | 178728.6 Mileage 210.1 Trip, Consumed 15.251 Gallons 87 Octane, Mileage 13.776 MPG, 5.8% increase.
3. Acetone 2.5 per 10 gallons Gasoline | ##### IN PROGRESS ####

The above was done in Orlando, Florida, September 2005. 50:50 Mix of Highway/City driving. Average Ambient Temperature 88o F.

Note that in the 80's vehicles like I said there would be improvements, but in the 90's there was a drop. This does nto surprise me given what I know of the control strategies.

 

[Rich Parsons]

From another forum: http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=2517

My guess is, based on experience and intuition, that acetone mixed with gasoline will degrade the fuel lines faster than gas alone. The acetone won't really be affected terribly in its destructive properties toward your hose by the gas other than to serve as a dilutent so it will be slower than pure acetone. Why it does this I'm not exactly sure, but ketones are notorious for swelling polymers, leaching out plasticizers, things like that. It may be doing some of these things.

It is true that a lower flash point fuel will improve fuel economy; this is why cheaper grade gasoline gives you better gas mileage--it's got a lower flash point. However, you can also get 'pinging' in the engine--pre-ignition sparking coming from the gas igniting too early. This isn't good for your car. In addition, if you have a high-performance car, the compression in the cylinders REQUIRES a better grade fuel with a higher flash point to run correctly.

Also remember that acetone is about 5% water, something you don't want to put in your engine. I doubt there is an interaction between acetone and gas that will damage your fuel lines, but you probably don't want to add acetone for the following reasons:

1. Pre-ignition of the fuel
2. Damage to fuel lines from normal acetone properties
3. Water in acetone condenses inside cylinders, or rusts out your gas tank
4. Ketones and other oxygen-bearing organics like ethanol have been known to produce carcinogenic incomplete combustion products in exhaust.

With the modern fuel tanks that are plastic the rust in the tank is not an issue, but water in the system is.

 

[Rich Parsons]

A thought just occurred to me. (* Yes it did hurt *)

If Acetone evaproates quickly and as your tank goes down in volume and the vapor increases, I would expect that the acetone would be vaporizing the gas more readily in the tank, and therefore not as much as what people think would be getting to the injectors.

I do not have the equipment to measure a test of the amount of acetone to gas vapor in a contolled experiment as well as the values at an injection point.

An interesting thought. Which goes to Elders' point of it not working.

 

[Rich Parsons]

Another link to what seems to be the same article: http://www.industrialnewsupdate.com/news/oil-energy/archives/2005/03/acetone_in_fuel.php I linked in first but at a different site.

 

[bydand]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't expect a darn thing to happen. I've been around the block a time or two and suspect that this is a great big load of hooey. Just willing to try it on my clunker (93 Geo Metro, 1.0 liter 3 cyl.) because I want to be able to look someone right in the eye when it comes up again and say beyond a shadow of a doubt; "Nope, tried it, doesn't do a thing." I know I can get a small bottle of pure acetone at Lowes in the paint thinner section. Shoot I have a bottle I use for cleaning my spray-gun, but want to have a fresh, unopened bottle so there is no doubt. I don't think we use the E-10 gas up here yet because we get 99% of our gas from Canadian refineries.

 

[Rich Parsons]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't expect a darn thing to happen. I've been around the block a time or two and suspect that this is a great big load of hooey. Just willing to try it on my clunker (93 Geo Metro, 1.0 liter 3 cyl.) because I want to be able to look someone right in the eye when it comes up again and say beyond a shadow of a doubt; "Nope, tried it, doesn't do a thing." I know I can get a small bottle of pure acetone at Lowes in the paint thinner section. Shoot I have a bottle I use for cleaning my spray-gun, but want to have a fresh, unopened bottle so there is no doubt. I don't think we use the E-10 gas up here yet because we get 99% of our gas from Canadian refineries.

To truly test it (* look at me spending your money *), you should run multiple tanks with a note to the temperature, and it would be good to also run various octane levels. My expectation is that it will help you the best with the 87, although some older vehicles work better with the 89, not just becuase of the higher octane but because of the cleaners in the mid-grade fuels.

Good Luck.

 

[bydand]

To truly test it (* look at me spending your money *), you should run multiple tanks with a note to the temperature, and it would be good to also run various octane levels. My expectation is that it will help you the best with the 87, although some older vehicles work better with the 89, not just becuase of the higher octane but because of the cleaners in the mid-grade fuels.

Good Luck.

Good idea. I thought about running a couple of tanks, but didn't think about noting the temperature.

 

[Rich Parsons]

Good idea. I thought about running a couple of tanks, but didn't think about noting the temperature.

The RH (* Realative Humidity *) factor would be good, but a barometer reading would suffice. Speaking of Barometer if you do altitude in Maine that could effect the results.

 

[bydand]

The RH (* Realative Humidity *) factor would be good, but a barometer reading would suffice. Speaking of Barometer if you do altitude in Maine that could effect the results.

Good enough. RH won't be hard to gather, and as for altitude we sit at about 660' with no real big hills around here. Sure it is a bit hillier than Southern MI, but about the same as around Gaylord/ Indian River area.

 

[Nomad]

I'm not sure if they covered this one specifically, but Mythbusters did a show not long ago looking at gasoline additives purported to increase gas mileage. On testing, none of the additives made a measurable difference.

As a chemist, there's no way that a couple teaspoons of acetone in your tank is likely to have any effect on gas mileage whatsoever.

One interesting thing from the show was that they also ran a car on used cooking oil (which would otherwise be thrown away). Simply filtered it on the way into the gas tank... and the car ran beautifully. Free fuel is as close as your nearest KFC on "cleaning" day

Might not meet California emission standards, though...